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| MARKETS: Purvin & Gertz launched world LNG outlook service |
| Monday, 16 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 16, Monday) --- Consultant Purvin & Gertz has announced the release of its ‘Global LNG Outlook’, a new service providing analysis on the short-term world LNG market. The service aims to analyse and understand the fundamental factors driving international gas and LNG markets and to assess their impact in terms of spot LNG and traded gas price reaction, quantification of flexible supply availability and the resulting determination of expected LNG trade patterns. Purvin & Gertz said: “By the end of 2010 global gas liquefaction capacity is scheduled to expand by nearly 90 million tonnes or 45% of end-2007 capacity with much of this expansion occurring in the Middle East. “This would suggest that global LNG trading patterns will change with the result that recent West-to-East trade will be reversed and marginal LNG output possibly looking for a market. However, if nothing else, recent experiences in the LNG industry have taught us that nothing is certain. “Gas liquefaction plant construction delays and operating problems continue to cast a cloud over future LNG supply availability while the level of future demand continues to be impacted by major events such as nuclear power plant availability in Japan and hydropower output in Spain. “The only thing of which we can be certain is that the future will be uncertain. For this reason we see a need in the global LNG market for a service of this nature. Unlike many other publications that provide a high level, anecdotal analysis of global gas markets, Global LNG Outlook provides a unique, in-depth perspective on all aspects of the short-term global LNG market. This is achieved by detailed analysis, our industry expertise, use of our comprehensive in-house databases and application of our existing modeling capabilities.” Purvin & Gertz is an independent energy consulting firm providing technical, commercial and strategic advice. |
| CLIMATE CHANGE: Oilsands used in US refineries will lead to higher output of greenhouse gases |
| Wednesday, 11 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) --- Two green lobbies have charged that US refiners will produce much more greenhouse gases processing Canada’s oilsands than if they used ‘traditional’ crude oil. The report, ‘Tar Sands: Feeding US Refinery Expansions With Dirty Fuel,’ said that two thirds, or the equivalent of 1.1 million barrels per day (b/d), of the currently proposed increase in US refining capacity of 1.6 million bpd would come from refining heavier, dirtier crude oil from Canadian oilsands. More than 800,000 b/d of existing US refining capacity is to be converted to processing regular crude from oilsands, so that conventional refining capacity is expected to undergo a net decrease of over 300,000 b/d. The total net increase in refining capacity to come from oilsands would be over 1.9 million b/d, said the report. Since the average capacity of a US refinery is 116,395 b/d, the planned 1.9 million b/d of increased oilsands capacity would be equal to constructing more than 16 new refineries dedicated to using oilsands. The increased oilsands refining capacity includes the following: Illinois and Texas (495,000 b/d), Indiana (205,000 b/d), Louisiana (180,000 b/d), Michigan (15,000 b/d), Montana (13,000 b/d), North Dakota (65,000 b/d), Ohio (316,120 b/d), Oklahoma (44,700 b/d), South Dakota (400,000 b/d) and Wisconsin (200,000 b/d). Eric Schaeffer, director of EIP, said: “It is hard to imagine what else it is that the US oil industry could do to go backwards further and faster than to rely on Canadian tar sands or similar resources in the US. Not only would this mean significantly more pollution overall, but it would substantially boost the greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. The US government needs to get more involved in this situation to ensure that we do not end up with an environmental setback of truly staggering proportions.” Matt Price, project manager for Alberta/BC Energy and Climate and a member of Environmental Defence Canada, said: “The tar sands project is the most destructive project on Earth. Nowhere else are we talking about ripping up an area the size of Florida, creating massive toxic lakes you can see from space with the naked eye, and giving off three times the greenhouse gas emissions to produce oil when compared with conventional crude. |
| SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Kayan signs US$6 billion financing agreements for petrochemical complex |
| Wednesday, 11 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) --- An affiliate of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company said it has signed US$6 billion worth of financing arrangements for 15 years with a group of banks and financial institutions to finance part of the cost of its new complex in Jubail Industrial City. The complex will be the world’s largest integrated petrochemical complex. Mutlaq Hamad Al-Morished, Saudi Kayan chairman and SABIC vice president for corporate finance, signed the agreements on behalf of Saudi Kayan. The complex, currently under construction, is expected to go on-stream in the fourth quarter of 2010 with a total annual capacity of six million tonnes per year of a variety of petrochemical products including ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, polypropylene and ethylene glycol. It will also manufacture specialised products including aminoethanols, aminomethyls, dimethylformamide, dimethylethanol, dimethylethanolamine, ethoxylates, polycarbonate and acetone. Mr Al-Morished said SABIC’s keenness to diversify the sources of financing for its projects and to optimise the utilisation of available funding sources, especially Islamic financing. SABIC holds a 35% of the shareholding in Saudi Kayan with a private shareholder, Al Kayan Petrochemical Company, holding 20%. The remaining 45% is held by Saudi shareholders following an initial public offering last year. |
| MALAYSIA: Proserv ties up with Tanjung Offshore Services as part of expansion move |
| Tuesday, 10 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 10, Tuesday) --- Proserv Far East Pte said it has signed a strategic agreement with Malaysian firm Tanjung Offshore Services Sdn Bhd as part of its expansion in the highly active Malaysian oil and gas market. The agreement is the latest step for Proserv to create the world’s most comprehensive abandonment and decommissioning company. To facilitate the introduction of the abandonment and decommissioning unit in Asia, Proserv has appointed Mike Urbigkit as general manager for the Kuala Lumpur operations. He said: “The partnership with Tanjung Offshore Services is strategically important for Proserv because it’s a company that’s well established in the area, and will provide us with a new network of locations. We already have facilities in Australia and Singapore, but the base in Kuala Lumpur will give us a better reach into the large Malaysian market, placing us in a stronger position to serve existing clients and follow up new leads.” Omar bin Khalid, Tanjung’s managing director, said: “I am extremely positive about the prospects the partnership will bring. We have targeted a number of projects for Proserv’s Abandonment and Decommissioning SBU, and there is considerable interest in its products and services. “Already Proserv has secured one tender and two other projects of interest. With an active business development team in place, I am confident that together, a substantial hub will be established within the next 24 months.” |
| JAPAN: The Green Grid expands into Asia |
| Monday, 09 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 9, Monday) --- The Green Grid, a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems, said it has formed two new Japan Work Groups as well as a formal relationship with The Green IT Promotion Council. “The Green Grid is responding to a long and strong history in Japan to improve data center energy efficiency,” said John Tuccillo, director of The Green Grid. “The launch of these new work groups will position The Green Grid to make strategic, tailored recommendations to Japanese businesses and organizations, with the goal to promote a sustained increase in energy efficiency.” Reporting to the group’s technical committee, the Japan Data Collection and Analysis Work Group will be chartered with collecting and analysing data from The Green Grid’s Japanese member companies and to ensure that consortium recommendations are tailored appropriately for organisations in the country. The Japan Communications Work Group will also promote the key findings of the technical committee to Japanese IT professionals including data centre managers, serve as a point of engagement for local organisations interested in collaborating with The Green Grid, and support local marketing and IT energy efficiency events. The Green Grid said it also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Green IT Promotion Council (GIPC) to exchange information and jointly work on improving IT energy efficiency. The MOU will allow both organisations to convey relevant information to their members. GIPC President Tsutomu Handa said: “The Green IT Promotion Council recognises global warming as a crucial challenge that must be taken on immediately. Recent government initiatives, a strengthening of partnerships among industry, government and the academy, as well as this collaboration with The Green Grid, typify the enhancement of relations with organisations overseas. We have high hopes that through these efforts we will be able to make the concepts of ‘energy conservation for IT’ and ‘energy conservation by IT’ a reality.” “The Green Grid is pleased to expand our ecosystem of industry partners by working with GIPC to promote energy efficient IT policies and educate users on steps they can take to improve IT energy efficiency,” said Jon Haas, a representative of The Green Grid. “This collaboration will allow The Green Grid to learn from and integrate established policies with best practices and metrics tailored for the Japanese IT community.” Information on the new Japan Work Groups can be found on www.thegreengrid.org/japanese. |
| CHINA: Flowserve to supply valves for two Westinghouse AP1000T nuclear power plants |
| Monday, 09 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 9, Monday) --- Flowserve Corporation, a leading global provider of fluid motion and control products and services, said it will supply main steam isolation valves for the first two Westinghouse Electric Company AP1000T nuclear power plant projects in China as part of a multi-million dollar (USD) contract. The Flowserve valve is the first valve purchased for use with the new Westinghouse AP1000 reactor. The Flowserve Edward gate valves and actuators that will be used in the project are designed to be capable of isolating, for plant safety, the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor main steam pipelines in 3 to 5 seconds, and are the largest Flowserve valves of this type ever built. “We take great pride in earning the first valve order from Westinghouse for their new passive AP1000 nuclear power plant design, and look forward to serving this customer with additional Flowserve products in the future,” said Tom Pajonas, president of the Flowserve Flow Control Division. “We have a leadership position in the global nuclear power industry as a result of our aftermarket experience and capabilities, our large global installed base, and our excellent performance and safety record.” The Westinghouse AP1000 plant design is considered one of the safest designs ever built, while using 50% fewer safety-related valves, 80 percent less safety-related piping, and 85% less control cable. The new passive design also utilises gravity in lieu of mechanical equipment to provide emergency cooling water flow. China selected Westinghouse to build four AP1000 nuclear power plants, and this contract represents the first valve production order in the world for this Westinghouse design. Operating in more than 55 countries, Flowserve produces engineered and industrial pumps, seals and valves as well as a range of related flow management services. |
| SINGAPORE: Terrapinn’s ‘Carbon Finance Asia 2008’ to be held at Grand Hyatt from October 7 to 10. |
| Friday, 06 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 6, Friday) --- ‘Carbon Finance Asia 2008’, an event by Terrapinn, will be held at the Grand Hyatt from October 7 to 10. Two billion or more of carbon credits are expected to be generated over the next five years under the Kyoto Protocol’s first stage. The trade could be worth upwards of $40 billion worldwide over that period based on current prices. Capitalising on the success of last year’s ‘Carbon Finance Asia’, this year’s event will continue to provide a platform for international CERs buyers and investors meet carbon project owners and developers in Asia to discuss potential deals and partnership opportunities. The event will facilitate the meeting of buyers and sellers of CERs across Asia’s key CDM projects and showcase key CDM projects from Asia, latest carbon funds and trading activities in the Asia Pacific region. Topics addressed include global supply and demand of carbon credits, regulation and policy developments, investment opportunities, corporate carbon footprint, CDM projects validation, verification and contracting, pricing and trading of carbon credits, acquisition of carbon credits for the different industries. For more information on ‘Carbon Finance Asia 2008’, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
| CHINA: ‘2008 China Nuclear Energy Congress’ in Beijing from June 10 to 13 |
| Friday, 06 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 6, Friday) --- ‘2008 China Nuclear Energy Congress’ will be held at the Kempinski Hotel in Beijing, China from June 10 to 13. Issues related to the security of supply, production, distribution, consumption and the safety and efficiency for nuclear energy will be addressed at the plenary sessions by world renowned speakers. Topics covered include nuclear energy for sustainable development, state policies in a low carbon economy, technology, technical and commercial perspectives of AP1000, CANDU technology for generation III + and IV reactors, advancement of generation III reactor technology , fostering ‘green power’, HTR fuel technology, SMART technology, radioactive waste management system, nuclear power plant operations and management, insurance and reinsurance, equipment and facilities, uranium resource, fuel cycle market, outlook and investment climate for nuclear power, China’s atomic energy act and nuclear fusion. Speakers include Zhang Huazhu (China Nuclear Energy Association), Kang Rixin (China National Nuclear Corporation), Wang Yingsu (China HuaNeng Group Nuclear Development), Jerry Hopwood (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited), David Doerksen (Cameco Corporation), Ulf Kutscher (NUKEM Technologies GmbH), Masaharu Hanyu (Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy), Hans Forsström (International Atomic Energy Agency), Agneta Rising (Vattenfall Group), Helmut Engelbrecht (Urenco Limited), Moon-Hee Chang (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute), Gary Fox (AREVA NC Inc), Toshihide Tsunematsu (Japan Atomic Energy Agency), Leonid T Yanko (AtomStroyExport), Nikolay G. Kodochigov (FSUE OKB Mechanical Engineering), Wu Zongxin (Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology), Leonid A. Bolshov (Scientific & Technical Council on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities Rosatom), Chen Yuehui (China Nuclear International Uranium Corporation) and Ronald Gene Clark (TradeTech). For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
| SINGAPORE: ‘The Synergies of Refining, Trading and Supply’ from August 18 to 21 |
| Thursday, 05 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 5, Thursday) --- Oxford Princeton’s ‘The Synergies of Refining, Trading and Supply’ will be held in Singapore from August 18 to 21. Topics addressed include the influence of the world energy outlook on refining economics, selection of the optimum crude slate, use of trading techniques to maximise refining profitability, the economics and technologies of refining and planning, supply, refining and distribution optimisation in a multiple refinery scenario, capturing added value by blending, commercial opportunities in processing, adding value within the logistical chain, project investment evaluation, return on capital invested, measuring refinery performance and strategies and constraints in the future of the industry. The workshop is recommended for those working in the refining and supply trading sectors who have a direct involvement in the efficiency and profitability of refinery operations and its interaction with the supply trading functions. Ian Holdaway, an international consultant in the downstream oil industry and a partner and technical director of Cambrian Marine Reprocessing, a company specialising in the on-site reprocessing of contaminated petroleum and petrochemical cargoes, will direct the course. For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
| CLIMATE CHANGE: Greenpeace says carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a ‘scam’ |
| Thursday, 05 June 2008 | |
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(EnergyAsia, June 5, Thursday) --- In a damning report entitled “False Hope”, environmental group Greenpeace has described carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a ‘scam’ operating on an unproven technology. However, coal and power companies are exploiting the notion of so-called ‘capture ready’ power plants to justify building new coal-fired power stations with no guarantee that CCS would ever be retrofitted to capture CO2. “Carbon capture and storage is a scam. It is the ultimate coal industry pipe dream,” said author Emily Rochon, a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace International. “It is insanity verging on criminal negligence to pass up clean energy and instead pin hopes on an unproven technology. Governments and businesses need to reduce their emissions, not search for excuses for continuing to burn coal.” Fraught with uncertainties over practicality and cost, she said CCS technology is not expected to be technically feasible before 2030 at best. If it ever matures, CCS will therefore arrive on the scene too late to play a role in combating climate change over the crucial next few years, or even decades. The consensus among climate experts is that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2015 and be at least halved by 2050. Enthusiasm for CCS is reaching fever pitch among coal and oil advocates, who have lost the battle over whether climate change is a problem, according to Greenpeace. Unable to look beyond the carbon economy, they are desperate to project CCS as the way to continue with ‘pollution-as-usual’. The Greenpeace report points out that the technology has not been made to work on anything approaching the level needed for a full-scale power plant, and that no one has yet successfully combined the ‘capture’ with the ‘storage’ elements of the concept. Among other shortcomings, the increased energy requirements of CCS would effectively wipe out the power plant efficiency gains of the last 50 years, Greenpeace said. For every four CCS-equipped coal-fired power plants, a fifth would be needed to make up the energy shortfall. CCS could also double plant costs and lead to electricity price hikes estimated between 21% and 91%. Storing CO2 underground also carries significant risks, said Greenpeace. Long-term leakage rates as low as 1% could cancel out any climate benefit. The potential environmental impacts also open up entirely new issues of liability. |
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